If you havent set foot in a new-car dealers showroom in over a decade you’re not alone. The average age of all light-duty cars and trucks on the road now stands at a record 11.5 years, according to the market research firm IHS Automotive in Southfield, Mich.
“As long as we have tracked average age, it has gradually risen over time due to the increasing quality of automobiles,” says Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader at IHS Automotive.
To be sure a quick scan of online used-car listings in the greater Chicagoland area show a bevy of models with more than 250,000 miles registered on their odometers that are in sufficiently good enough shape to be seeking new owners. Among those being offered, we found a 2006 Honda Accord sedan with 280,000 miles, a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV with nearly 275,000 miles and a 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck that’s logged over a half-million miles – 556,000 to be exact – and is still going.
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